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A Detroit woman is in the hospital but alive after she fought off a violent intruder by tricking him before she was able to tase him and fight off the man, even as he was armed with a knife.

The attack happened inside the home of the 39-year-old victim on Wednesday. According to police and family, the woman was in her home on Radnor when a man broke in.

Detroit police say around 4:30 a.m., a man used a milk crate to reach a window and crawled inside the home.

Once inside, the woman fought back as he tried to sexually assault her. The woman's sister, Yolanda Burkett, said the man should be ashamed.

"That's definitely a coward. She's a woman and once you see that she was trying to defend herself, he should have left, period," Burkett said.

The woman's family says her attacker hit her in the head with a lamp, then stabbed her in the chest with a rusty knife. But she was able to trick him long enough to get into the bathroom and grab a Taser.

She turned and used it and stunned the man three times.

That gave her enough time to get across the street to her sister's house and get the help she needed.

"My daughter heard her banging on the door," Burkett said. "The first thing I did was call 911."

She was rushed to St. John's hospital in critical condition. Her family says she's been upgraded to stable. Her family said she's the bravest woman they know.

"I've always known my mom to be a fighter but I would have never thought in a million years that something like this could happen," her daughter, Enique Williams, said.

After hearing about what happened, Adam Allen showed up and decided to lend a hand by boarding up her windows.

Allen lives a few blocks away and when he heard what happened, he rushed to help.

"I was shocked. That's one hell of a woman. That's great she's alive. Hopefully they get this guy," Allen said.

The man is still on the loose and armed with that knife. He's described as black, between 17 and 23 years would with a beard and mustache.

He was wearing a jean jacket and a red hoodie. Anyone with information is urged call 1-800-SPEAK-UP.